


Breaking All the Rules

by CMRandles



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Lots of talk about erections, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, Misogyny if you squint, Romance, Some parts are sad some parts are happy, Sometimes Steve is the bossy one, Vignettes, lots of mixed feelings, virgin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-25
Updated: 2016-10-25
Packaged: 2018-08-24 16:07:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8378710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CMRandles/pseuds/CMRandles
Summary: A series of stand-alone vignettes that explore Steve's rules for himself and how Tony inevitably makes him break them.





	

**No Feet On the Table**

 

Steve was just minding his own business, reading a newspaper and eating a bucket of cereal when there was a THUMP and Tony’s repulsor boot sat on the table in front of him. He pulled back, dismayed, before realizing that the contraption was still attached to its inventor.

“So, I have a problem,” Tony said. His face was pinched. 

“What happened?” Steve asked.

“Well, that part is kind of a long story and I’m sure you don’t need to hear it. The point is that I need you to pry this thing off of me.” 

Steve raised his eyebrow. “Surely there’s a better way.” 

Tony frowned. “I’ve tried everything, Cap. Blowtorch, sawblade, even the jaws of life. I just...well, it’s designed to withstand any sort of elemental attack and I guess I did too good a job because now it won’t come off. I realize this is hilarious to you, but I’m actually a little panicked right now so if you could stop smirking I would appreciate it.” 

The super soldier did his best to wipe the grin off his face. “Sorry, I know it’s not funny.” 

“It’s really not.” 

“I mean, a little bit, right? You designed your armor so well that now you can’t get it off?” 

“Can we yuck it up later, please? Super soldier strength now, stand up comedy routine later.” 

“Sure, sure,” Steve said rising from his seat and assessing the situation with a critical eye. “I’m not sure how best to do this. I don’t want to hurt you.” 

Tony waved a hand. “We’re way past that.” 

“Maybe if you got on all fours on the table?” 

Now it was Tony’s turn to grin. “Doggy style?” 

Steve flushed all the way to the tips of his ears. “Do you want my help or not?” 

“Yes, okay, sorry. Getting on the table now. Usually people throw money when I do this sort of thing,” Tony murmured, clambering onto the table and bracing himself on his hands and knees. 

Steve positioned himself behind Tony and looked over the device currently clamped to his teammate’s leg. “This thing is gonna be wrecked,” he said. 

“I figured as much.” 

“Okay. You ready?” 

“Just do it, Steve.” 

He reached out, taking hold of both sides of the boot and pulled. It didn’t even budge. Steve put his back into it, digging his fingers in and yanking with all his might. There was a squealing sound and the boot came apart in two pieces, which clattered to the floor. Tony winced, flexing his bare foot experimentally, then sighed with relief. 

“Whew, much better.” 

“If you guys are gonna play doctor, could you not do it where I eat my Wheaties?” Clint said from the doorway. 

“Excuse you,” Tony shot back, “we are playing  _ engineer _ .” 

  
  


**Always Make the Bed**

 

It was always strange to wake up in a new location. Though he was sure it happened to everyone, Steve’s moment of disorientation upon rising always seemed especially pronounced. Looking out the window of his hotel room at the Budapest skyline that morning was surreal indeed. He gazed out at the rising sun for a moment before turning to straighten his bed. 

There was a knock at the door and he turned, immediately on his guard. His shield was sitting beside the bed and Steve picked it up, taking it with him to answer the call. He glanced through the peep hole and then smiled, setting the shield aside and opening the door. 

“Nat told me you don’t get up before ten thirty,” he said, stepping aside to admit Tony Stark and the tray of coffee he was carrying. 

“That’s on a normal day. And there is nothing normal about this day,” he said, setting the tray on a coffee table and looking around. He frowned. “They gave you a bigger room than me.” 

“It’s not all about size, Tony.” 

That made him laugh. “I thought you might need some refreshment this morning, keep you sharp for our exciting afternoon of searching for terrorists.” 

“Still no leads?” Steve said, crouching down beside Tony on the floor while he started prepping the coffee. 

The other man shook his head. “Not a peep. It seems that it’s up to us to shake the branches and see what falls out.” 

Steve sighed. “I’d feel a lot better if we had something solid to go on.” 

“Me too.” 

Tony handed him coffee in a delicate china cup so small it looked ridiculous in his hands. Steve took it, their fingers brushing one another and making his heart race. He wondered who would broach the subject first. Surprisingly, it turned out to be Tony. 

“About last night,” he said, looking down at the coffee pot as though it were the most interesting thing in the universe. “I, uh, I have some questions.” 

“Me too,” Steve confessed. 

“You kissed me.” 

“That’s not really a question, Tony.” 

The shorter man looked over at him, no hint of amusement on his face. “Why?” 

Steve shrugged, sipped the coffee which was rich and earthy. “I wanted to, I guess.” 

“You guess?” 

“Okay, I don’t guess. I wanted to. Have wanted to for a while now.”

Tony shook his head in wonder. “You sound so nonchalant about it, like this is something you do all the time.”

“It’s not and you know that.” 

“I do, which is why your cavalier attitude surprises me.” 

Steve faced him with a level expression, setting down his cup on the table. “Did I misjudge the situation? Because it doesn’t seem like I did. You and I...we’ve been circling each other for a while now.” 

Tony spluttered. “Circling? Is that what kids are calling it these days?”

“You know what I mean.” 

He sighed, fiddled with the coffee pot for a minute staring off into space. “It was bad timing.” 

Steve looked taken aback. “Was it?”

“We’re in the middle of a mission, Steve. It feels like the roles somehow got reversed here and I’m the one lecturing  _ you _ about how we’re supposed to keep our focus on the work and not on what's in our pants.” 

“Are you  _ interested _ in what’s in my pants?” 

Tony blinked. “Well, yeah. I mean, who wouldn’t be?” 

“So, you’re happy I kissed you.” 

“You bet,” Tony said, still refusing to make eye contact even as Steve sidled over to him so that their legs were touching. “I just...it doesn’t feel like the right time.” 

“It’s never the right time,” Steve observed, reaching out and taking the teacup out of Tony’s hands. “You want to know what I think?” 

“Desperately,” Tony said, looking straight into his eyes from only a few inches away. 

“I think if we get this out of our systems we’ll be better able to focus on the mission.” 

Tony chuckled. “That’s a good line. I’ll have to use that one.” 

“Come to bed with me, Tony.” 

The darker man’s pupils dilated. He licked his lips, then reached out for Steve’s hand. 

“You sir,” he murmured as he closed in for a kiss, “are a very convincing salesman.” 

  
  
  


**Don’t Swear In Front of Women**

 

Steve paced back and forth, all but wearing a hole in the floor. His cell phone was clutched tightly in one hand. He kept putting it in his pocket, worried he would crush the damn thing, but then grew concerned that he had missed a call and pulled it back out again. 

“Sit down,” Wanda admonished him gently. 

He sighed, looking around at the others and their tired lined faces. They had all been running for so long and this, this latest tragedy felt a step over the line. He could feel the weight of it crushing him, breaking him bit by bit. 

“Someone’s coming,” Wanda said and they all jumped. Clint nocked an arrow, Scott reached for his helmet, Sam stood beside Steve, who stared at the door as though willing Tony to walk through it. 

But it wasn’t Tony who stepped inside, it was Natasha. She held her hands up in a peaceful gesture and stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. 

There was a collective sigh of relief. Clint put down his bow and went to give her hug. Steve stepped forward, already forming the words to the question he did not want answered. 

“Is it true?” 

Just the look on Natasha’s face told him everything he needed to know. She nodded, her face drawn, and accepted Clint’s arms when he opened them to her. Wanda covered her mouth and let out a little sob. 

“But...how?” Sam asked breathlessly. “I mean, he’s Iron Man. The Avengers…” 

“Weren’t summoned,” Natasha said hollowly. “There was an attack and Tony responded on his own. He...wasn’t authorized. No one was.” 

“The accords,” Scott said savagely. 

“He went off on his own, half-cocked like he always does. Did. And this time it got him killed,” Natasha said tiredly. “You want to know the worst part?” 

“What?” Steve asked. He had turned away, facing the wall of the abandoned building and trying his hardest not to punch it down. 

“The government is disavowing him. Because his final act on this earth, saving people’s lives, wasn’t sanctioned by the UN.” She gave a mirthless chuckle. “I suppose Tony would have liked that. Sticking it to the man one last time.” 

Wanda was crying in earnest now, comforted by Scott who stood awkwardly by, the only one who never really got to know Tony Stark. Steve stared at the cracked wall in front of him and thought about the last time he had seen Tony. He had been staring up at Steve in horror and disbelief as the shield split the casing of the arc reactor, making it spark and stutter. The look of betrayal in his eyes. Agony welled up inside him like a scalding wave and hot tears burst from his eyes. He was sobbing loudly and uncontrollably, startling everyone in the room. 

“Damn it, Tony!” he yelled, slamming his fist into the wall. It cracked further, plaster raining down on his boots in a cloud. “Why’d you have to be so stupid.” 

  
  


**Stick to First Base on the First Date**

 

Tony leaned heavily against him in the backseat of the town car, head lolling on Steve’s massive shoulder. “I think I should maybe not have had that second bottle of wine.” 

“You think?” 

Tony tilted his face so he could look up at the larger man. “Are you judging me? Just because you were born during prohibition…” 

“Ha ha,” Steve said, ruffling Tony’s hair gently with his hand. He used the closeness as an excuse to put his arm around the other man, though taking even that liberty made his heart race. Tony didn’t seem to mind, he snuggled up more closely, his beard scratching against Steve’s neck. 

“This was a good date,” he declared. 

Steve glanced at him. “I suppose you would know.” 

Tony nodded authoritatively. “Yes, I would. Though, to be fair, I’ve done more hooking up than straight-out dating. So, maybe your guess is as good as mine. But I had fun.” 

“Dinner was great,” Steve agreed. “That steak was a masterpiece.” 

“Didn’t I tell you?” 

The car pulled up in front of Avengers tower and Steve shifted, attempting to reach the door handle around a significant Tony-shaped impediment. Tony, perhaps mistaking this movement for an attempt at an embrace, tilted his face up and kissed Steve squarely on the jaw. He blinked, confused. 

“I missed,” he pouted, then corrected the situation by grabbing Steve’s face and angling it properly so that their lips met on the second attempt. 

Steve hadn’t been expecting this, but wasn’t exactly upset. He experienced a rush of heat at Tony’s touch along with a growing arousal. He cupped Tony’s face in his hands and kissed him back, trying to put everything he didn’t know how to say into it. Tony put his tongue into Steve’s mouth and the other man jolted, shocked by the boldness of it. 

“Did I scare you?” Tony asked, noting the tension and pulling back. 

“No, I just...wasn’t expecting that.” 

“You are so cute. Seriously. Come on,” Tony said, pushing the door open and pouring himself out onto the street with only the slightest stagger. 

Steve followed, reaching for his wallet to pay the driver before Tony put a hand on his arm. “Baby, it’s Uber.” This sentence made exactly zero sense to him, but he let it go figuring that it was better to just trust Tony in these matters. 

“Come on upstairs,” Tony said when they were inside. “I have one more surprise for you.” 

Steve hesitated. 

“It has nothing to do with my cock,” the other man added, which made the blonde flush practically purple. “Well, I mean, maybe not  _ nothing _ , but very little. My cock is only loosely related,” Tony babbled as he stepped into the elevator. Steve followed, doing his best to conceal the tent pole he was smuggling in his own khakis. 

“All the way to the top, J,” Tony commanded before crowding into Steve’s personal space. “Can I kiss you again?” he asked suddenly all earnest desire. 

Steve nodded, not trusting his voice and leaned down. Tony wrapped his arms around Steve’s shoulders and held him tightly, moving their lips together chastely. Steve held him back, pressing their chests together. Tony shifted, insinuating a leg between Steve’s thighs and all at once there was no hiding his significant...interest. Tony pulled back, his eyes sparkling. “Why, Captain.” 

“Sorry,” Steve said awkwardly, trying to extricate himself from the embrace. “I didn’t-” 

“Woah woah woah, get back here with that thing,” Tony replied, taking hold of Steve’s hips. “I’m hardly a blushing virgin on prom night, Steve. I know what an erection feels like. And I’m taking it as a compliment.” 

“I realize you’ve been around the block-” 

“So much I know all the parking spots,” Tony confirmed. 

“But this is our first date. And you got a little too drunk. I don’t want to pressure you.” 

Tony stared at him with an unreadable expression, cocking his head. “You are adorable.” 

“I wish you’d stop saying that,” Steve grumbled as the elevator reached the roof and the doors slid open. 

“I will when it stops being true,” Tony said, leading the way onto the landing pad where the wind silenced all further conversation. 

“Why is there a couch on the helipad?” Steve yelled, taking in the leather sofa complete with heavy down blanket sitting where the quadcopter was usually parked. 

Tony just motioned him forward and made himself comfortable on the couch, snuggling up to Steve when the bigger man eventually joined him. He pulled out a thermos and two cups, pouring what looked to be hot chocolate into each one and handing Steve a cup. He had expected it to be spiked in some way, but couldn’t taste any alcohol, just rich creamy chocolate. 

“Okay, I’m impressed,” he said close to Tony’s ear. The other man beamed. 

“Just you wait,” he replied, his breath puffing hot against Steve’s face. He his jaw up and pressed their lips together, tasting rich chocolate on Steve’s lips. They kissed, luxuriating in one another, until there was a sudden  _ BOOM! _ In the distance that made Steve almost drop his hot chocolate. 

He looked around, expecting to see smoking wreckage but instead saw a magnificent explosion of red white and blue in the night sky. 

“Fireworks?” he asked as more mortars went off, creating brilliant patterns. 

Tony nodded, wriggling under the blanket and looking pleased with himself. Steve put down his cup and wrapped Tony in his arms, burying his face in the other man’s hair and watching the show. 

“Whenever you’re ready,” Tony said after some time. “I’d really, really like to have sex with you. I’m not trying to push, I’m happy to be patient and wait for the right time, but  _ damn _ , Cap. I have some items from my childhood bucket list I would really enjoy checking off with you.” 

Steve’s cheeks colored. “How drunk are you, exactly?” 

That got Tony motivated. He sat up, meeting Steve’s blue eyes. “Hardly even in the neighborhood.” 

“I...I don’t really know what I’m doing, but, I think I’d like to do...something. With you. Tonight. If you want.” 

Tony snorted. “I’d have to be out of my god-damn mind to turn down an offer like that.” 

Behind him the sky exploded in gold and red and Steve found himself thinking that these probably weren’t even the best fireworks he would see this evening. 

**Author's Note:**

> I've been trying to practice keeping it short and this was a fun way for me to do that. I might add more if inspiration strikes. 
> 
> As always, I appreciate any feedback anyone would care to give - good, bad, or indifferent. Input keeps this little engine on the track! Thanks for reading.
> 
> UPDATE: You guys! I'm officially a published author! Woo! If you want to check out my book you can find it here: https://www.cmrandles.com/books (it's chock full of juicy romance and gay porn, I promise!)


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